Kmart Down to Only a Handful of Locations

After an upcoming closure, there will only be three Kmarts left in the continental US.

After an upcoming closure, there will only be three Kmarts left in the continental US.

At its peak, retail superstore chain Kmart was one of the major retail powers of the United States with over 2,000 locations open around the country. Sadly, shopping habits have changed substantially in the last two decades, with the convenience of Amazon and ubiquity of Walmart removing other retailers from the equation. After many years in business, Kmart is now teetering on edge of complete elimination.

This coming Saturday, another Kmart location in Avenel, New Jersey is slated to close its doors for good, with the majority of its remaining stock long since purchased or thrown away. When this store closes, there will officially only be three Kmart locations left in the continental US, plus a smattering of smaller locations elsewhere in the world.

“Kmart was part of America,” Michael Lisicky, an author who has written extensively on retail history, told NBC News. “Everybody went to Kmart, whether you liked it or not. They had everything. You had toys. You had sporting goods. You had candy. You had stationery. It was something for everybody. This was almost as much of a social visit as it was a shopping visit. You could spend hours here. And these just dotted the American landscape over the years.”